Plunger-guide for direct-plunger elevators.



T. LARSSON & A. G. SMITH. PLUNGER GUIDE FOR. DIRECT PLUNGER ELEVATORS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 22, 1903. RENEWED AUG. 9, 1909.

952,044, Patented Mar. 15,1910.

I i l 0 H 15 W 10' 14 II 14 v 14 I, e e 1%55 Him- 12 L 1L" i 1L I fTttwioas': mesaes." 1195 scans earns surren- THURE LARSSON AND Alli/[OURCOLUMBUS SMITH, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS,

ASSIGNORS T0 SAID LARSSON, W. E. D. STOKES, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., AND FREDA. JONES, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

PLUNGER-GUIDE FOR DIRECT-PLUNGER ELEVATORS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, THURE LARSSON, a

subject of the King of Sweden, and AMOUR COLUMBUS SMITH, a citizen ofthe United States, both residing at Worcester, in the county ofVorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulPlunger-Guide for Direct-Plunger Elevators, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to a hydraulic elevator of the direct plungertype.

The especial object of this invention isto provide simple and eflicientmeans for steadying a plunger and for preventing swaying or vibration ofthe end of the plunger within the casing. 0

To this "end, this invention consists of the plunger guide and of thecombinations of parts therewith as hereinafter described and moreparticularly pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 1 is a side view partially brokenaway of sufthereof, the end of the ficientpa rtsofa plunger elevator toillustrate the application of the invention thereto. Fig. 2 is an.enlarged fragmentary view of the lower end of the cylinder, and Fig. 3is a sectional view plunger being shown in bottom plan view.

A hydrauligeleva tor of the class to which this invention relatescoiiiprises a casing or cylinder which extends down into the ground, adistance corresponding to the length'of the elevator run, a plungerwhich passes through a stufling box at the upper end of the casing andextends down loosely into the casing, and an elevator car on the upperend of the plunger. In an elevator car of this class, the car is guidedon suitable ways and the upper plunger is ghided in the-stuffing box atthe upper end of the casing or cylinder.

In building elevators of this class for comparatively'short runs thestuffing box for the plunger and the vertical ways for the car have beenrelied upon for guiding the plunger in its up and down travel, andalthough elevators as thus constructed ,have operated efficiently forshort runs, for which they have ordinarily been regarded as bestadapted, it has been found, in practice, that when a ver lon plunger isemployed 1t 1s notv desirab e to cave the lower end of thevSpecification of Letters Patent. Application filed Mai; 22,,1903, SerialNo. 158,315.

plunger casing or Patented Mar. 15, 191(1). Renewed August 9, 1909.Serial No. 512,037.

plunger free or unsupported, that is to say, where a very long plungeris employed the lower end or the plunger, in some cases, has hada'tendency to vibrate or swing within its casing or cylinder. This isespecially objectionable, because as the elevator is as cending, thelength of the plunger within the casing growing shorter will tend toshorten and accentuate such vibrations so that said vibrations will betransmitted to the car, and in any case will tend to Wear and displacethe packings in the stufiing box. To overcome this objection, we haveprovided simple and efficient means for steadying .the lower end of theelevator plunger without changing its line of travel, withoutinterfering with the insertion of the end of the plunger through thestufling box and Without requiring the finishing or boring out of theinside of the plunger casing. The guiding devices which we have employedfor this purpose preferably comprise a number of bearing arms which areex: pa'nd-ing under spring tension. Each of these bearing arms ispreferably provided with a roller for engaging the side of the plungercasing and this entire attachment or steadying device is preferably made111 the form of a fixture which can beconnected to the lower end of theplunger.

Referring to the drawings for a detailed description .of an elevatorprovided with a plunger guide constructed 'accordlngto the invention, Adesignates the casing or cylinder which extends down into the ground asshown in Fig. 1. At its upper end the casing A is provided with a top B,havingan opening C to which the to and from pipe "is connected.Extending down through the stufiing box at the upper end of the head Bis a plunger or pipe D which carries the elevator car E at its upperend. These parts may be of any of the ordinary or ap-' provedconstruction and need not be herein further described at length.

The plunger guide or steadying attachment comprises a plug orcounterbored body portion 10 which is threaded into the lower end of theplunger D. Pivotally connected to the plug 10 are bearers or arms 11 andjournaled in each of the arms 11 is a convex faced wheel 12. Extendingdown between the adjacent arms 11 are foot pieces or guides 13, whichserve to guide the end of plunger comprising movable arms, a device theplunger when the same is inserted I through the stuffing box. Rested onthe in ner ends of the arms 11 is a plate or follower 14 which isnormally forced down by a spring 15. In the use of a plunger-guide. asthus constructed, the wheels 12 will engage the sides of the casingwhenever the lower end of the lower plunger is bent or deflected fromcentral position, the tension of the spring tending to force thearmsoutwardly will aid in preventing' the plunger from vibrating while at thesame time the use of this steadying attachment will not require finishedsurfaces inside of the casing.

We are aware that changes may be made in practicing our invention bythose who are skilled in the art without departing from the scopethereof as expressed in the claims. We do not wish, therefore, to belimited tothe construction herein shown and described but What We doclaim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a construction of the class described, the combination of aplunger casing, a plunger and a steadying attachment for the ocated inthe bottom of said plunger for engaging said arms to force themoutwardly, and a spring for operating said device.

2. In a construction of the class described, the combination of aplungercasing, a' plunger therefor, and a steadying attachment for the plungercomprising pivoted arms, a follower movabl mounted on the plunger for enaging sai arms and forcing them outward and resilientmeans for plungerrunnln'g 1n sald caslng, an elevator car on the upper end of theplunger, and a steadying attachment at the lower end of the plungercomprising a bottom plug, arms pivoted therein, rollers journaled in thearms, a follower, and a single coiled spring I acting on the follower tospread the arms. 5. In a construction of the class described, thecombination of a plunger casing, a plunger running therein, an elevatorcar on the upper end of the plunger, and a steadying attachment at thelower end of the plunger comprising a plug, at the lower end of theplunger, three hell-cranlcarms pivoted in the plug,za roller journaledin each of said bell-crank arms, a follower resting upon the horizontalmembers of said bell-crank arms, and a spring coiled in the plug andforcing down said follower to spread the bell-crank arms.

In-testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands, in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

THURE LARSSON. AMOUR COLUMBUS SMITH. Witnesses: v

LOUIS W. SoU'rHeATE,

moving the follower toward the arms.

PHILIP W. SOUTHGATE.

